A CONDENSED
HISTORY OF THE POPES CREEK LINE as interpreted by Dave Goldsmith....

The Baltimore and Potomac RR was chartered
in 1853, with permission securedfrom the Maryland General Assembly to
build a rail line from Baltimore, Md.south to Marlborough (now Marlboro), and
from there south to a point on thePotomac River in Southern Maryland.
As the charter was written, perhaps themost important parts of the charter, and
perhaps the entire reason for thePopes Creek's existence, was a claus that
allowed the B&P to build a branchextending from any point along the main
line not exceeding 20 miles inlength, and the right to connect to any
existing railroad or railroad builtthereafter. With the charter secured
work was to begin, but due to a lack offunding and the inopportune time of the
Civil War, the work would bepostponed, perhaps indefinitely.

THE
PENNSYLVANIA RR

The Pennsylvania Railroad was a prosperous
and rapidly expanding railroadchartered in 1846. Having finally
reached Baltimore by purchasing acontrolling interest in an ailing rail
line, the Northern Central, the Pennsywas anxious to gain access to the very
busy Baltimore-Washington traffic.But fearing increased competition, the
B&O RR, with friends in high places inthe Md. Gen. Assembly, successfully denied
the PRR any access whatsoever toWashington.

It was about this time that the B&P
went to the B&O RR and asked for help,but for the same reason of feared competition,
the B&O refused, a mistake theB&O would never forget. The
Pennsy noticed the almost stillborn B&P, andmore specifically a claus in the charter
of the B&P allowing the constructionof branchlines extending from the mainline
not exceeding 20 miles in length.By locating the mainline through Huntington,
Md. (now Bowie) a branch couldbe built legally into Washington D.C.,
getting around the B&O opposition andgaining access to Washington-Baltimore
traffic. In 1867 the PRR granted theB&P $400,000 in loan money to get
started.

By 1872 the PRR had built a tunnel under
Baltimore, the B&P tunnel,connecting the B&P with the Northern
Central, allowing the PRR access to B&Ptracks. The B&P had built the
main to Bowie, and a branch to Washington, aswell as a branch to 14th street to connect
to the RF&P railroad (the currentLandover line), gaining access to the
vast expanding southward rail network.By 1873 the mainline to Popes Creek was
complete, allowing freight service toSouthern Maryland and a connection via
barge to the RF&P at Aquia Creek. In1902 the B&P was purchased by the
PRR in full and merged with the NorthernCentral, and the Philadelphia, Wilmington,
and Baltimore to become thePhiladelphia, Baltimore and Washington
RR, the name it would keep, on paper,until the 1990's under Conrail ownership.

PROSPERITY,
DOWNFALL, AND RESURRECTION

Now complete, the railroad provided much
needed service to the farmers ofSouthern Maryland. Allowing 5 hour
passenger service from Popes Creek toBaltimore via Washington for $2.05 fare,
Bowie to Popes Creek $1.90, andBowie to Beantown (now Waldorf) for $1.20.
Farm produce and tobacco could behauled for $.15 per 100 lbs, as well as
any other freight imaginable. Someof the first tractors in Southern Maryland
came in via the railroad. The B&Penjoyed success and profit for many years,
boosting the economy of thesouthern part of the state. It is
because of the railroad that the countyseat town of La Plata was even formed,
having started first as only a trainstation and having been called La Plata
Station. La Plata soon outgrew thesurrounding towns because of its railroad
access. Many name changes alsotook place over the years, Lothair becoming
Faulkner, Cox's Station becameBel Alton, Port Tobacco Station became
Spring Hill, Beantown became Waldorf,Huntington became Bowie.

By the 1940's traffic was down, and in
1949 the last passenger train was runfrom Popes Creek to Bowie. Freight
service also shrank, and by 1963 theportion of the line from Lothair (Faulkner)
to Popes Creek was placed out ofservice. By 1965 traffic south of
Bowie was essentially discontinued. Theportion from Baltimore to Washington still
enjoyed success and remained inservice. The line sat dormant for
several years until the late 60's whenPEPCO, the Potomac Electric Power Co.
built a new power generating plant atMorgantown, Md. A new line was built,
owned by PEPCO, from Lothair toMorgantown, and the portion from Lothair
to Popes Creek was abandoned. ThePenn Central hauled some coal to the Power
Plant on an as needed basis, butit wasn't until 1973 with the "Big Oil
Crisis of 1973" that traffic reallypicked up. PEPCO was forced by high
oil prices to switch completely to coalfor fuel, and with that the traffic on
the Popes Creek branch really pickedup, necessitating a rehabilitation of
the track and structure. That plantburns more than 9,000 tons of coal per
day, averaging 1 to 2 trains a day.An estimated value is $10,000 per carload
or $80,000 per 80-car train of coalto be delivered. By 1980 the track
had been rehabilitated, with sidings atLothair, Cox, Port Tobacco, Beantown and
Cheltenham removed. In 1981 theportion from Baltimore to Washington (the
NEC) was sold to Amtrak, butownership of the Popes Creek was retained.
With a few customers comingonline in Waldorf, the Popes Creek remains
in this form Today.